Violence against women: Three booked for gang rape near Bani Gala

After woman escaped, accused rapists also shot pedestrian while trying to catch her.

ISLAMABAD:

A 26-year old woman was allegedly gang raped in a suburb of Islamabad on Wednesday.

According to the police, Raja Ghafoor*, Qaiser* and Abid* were accused of raping Shahida Khan* at a farmhouse in Lakhwal near Bani Gala.

The three suspects were allegedly drunk at the time. The police said Khan escaped from the farmhouse after the incident, however the suspects followed her and one of them opened fire at her, injuring a pedestrian near a wooded area of Bani Gala.

After Rescue 15 was contacted, the police reached the spot and rescued the woman. A rape case was registered against the suspects but the police failed to arrest them.

The police claimed that the girl was a call girl who had been brought to Rawalpindi by a pimp named Naila. Oddly, this claim came before the police had recorded the alleged victim’s statement.

Investigation Officer Mazhar Iqbal confirmed that a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against the three men and the police are trying to track them down. “We are trying to investigate the matter from every angle,” he added. He said that details would become clear after the police record the woman’s statement.

*Names changed to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2013.